Local

Jacks Release Schedule

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Steve Imming

A schedule is now set for another season of Jackrabbit basketball.The South Dakota State men’s basketball team released its 2013-14 men’s basketball schedule on Wednesday, a slate that includes eight postseason qualifiers from last year, including three NCAA Tournament teams, 13 home games and a home tournament.

“We’re obviously glad to have it done, and it was difficult to put together for two reasons,” head coach Scott Nagy said. “ Number one, its very hard to find teams willing to play us, and two, with the loss of Oakland over the summer, it was two additional non-conference games that we had to pick up, which were not easy to get.”

After a warm-up contest at home against Dakota Wesleyan on Nov. 1, the Jackrabbits open the season on Nov. 8-9 at the USD Tournament in San Diego, with a game against host San Diego on Nov. 8, and Loyola Marymount on Nov. 9.

The Jacks open the home portion of the schedule on Nov. 14, at home against Montana, one of the three 2013 NCAA Tournament teams on the schedule, the others being at Minnesota on Dec. 10 and at home against Belmont on Dec. 14.

The schedule also includes a home tournament for the Jackrabbits, part of the Legend’s Classic, which also includes games at Texas Tech on Nov. 21 and at Stanford on Dec. 1. In the Brookings sub-regional of the Legend’s Classic at Frost Arena, SDSU hosts Howard on Nov. 25, preceded by a game pitting Lehigh against Texas Southern. The following day, Nov. 26, the two losing teams from Nov. 25 play, followed by the two winning teams.

SDSU closes its non-conference slate on Jan. 3, 2014 at Buffalo, and then opens Summit League play on Jan. 9, at IUPUI. The league schedule includes games against three teams that qualified for postseason play in 2013, including league newcomer Denver, which won its first round game in the NIT before falling in the second round. Both Western Illinois and North Dakota State earned berths in the CBI Tournament.

“We feel like it’s a very competitive schedule. We like our home schedule and there are several competitive road games,” Nagy added. “I’m very thankful to assistant coach Rob Klinkefus for his hard work in getting this put together.”

The season culminates with the Summit League Championships, which return to the Sioux Falls Arena for a sixth consecutive season on March 8-11.